Surgical bust pad



Jan. 13, 1959 H. G. CREAMER 2,867,818

SURGICAL BUST PAD Filed April 4, 1955 INVENTOR. A AZE/V 6. 62594162 vBYUnite A SURGICAL BUST PAD" HelenG. Creamer, Pasadena, Calif.

Application April 4, 19.55,Serial No; 499,141 16 Claims; (Cl. 3-36)?tates PatentO of this skin. Also, the type'of packing used in priordevices results in expensive and complex construction-of the'breast padand the packing has a tendency to become contaminated after being worn.

By the present invention, a bust pad is provided in which the structuralcomponents of the pad are positioned away-from'the area of surgicaloperation to prevent-"irritation of the tender skin. The bustpad also"incorporates-novel packing to give the neededWeight andresiliency"to-the pad; More'particularly thebust pad consists-of a singleContinuous layer in the shape 'of' a human breast, wh'ich 'layer isfabricated from foam latex, synthetic foamed plastic material orthe likeand is weighted with shot-heavy sand or other finely divided substancesattached tosaid layer. In-the preferred-form of'theginvention, the padis weighted by shot which is carried within the interior of the wall ofthe pad at a position such that-the centerof gravity o-f'the pad'willfall at the portion of the pad lyingbelow the nipple. Thepad is coveredwith' a'suitable covering material, suchas silk or rayon cloth, and isinserted into the'cup of a brassiere. Because of the locationof theweight within the pad, the behavior of 'thepad in the brassiere cup willbe essentiallythat of'a normal breastand the pad can be worn after amastectomy to givea lifelike appearance. In addition, the edges of the:bustpad are shaped to conform toithe contour'oftthe chestportionsi Ysurroundingthe area of'surgeryso that the pad will fit.

closely. to the body'of the:.wearer and will give. the;-ap.-. pearanceof :a normal breast.

It;;is therefore an;=object-of the, PICSCl'lLil'lVBl'ltlOIlylO provide asurgical bust pad which is weighted withqheavy bust pad in the shape ofahuman .breast.and comprised. ofa single layer whichisweighted.by..heavy.particles.

integral with the layer andlocated within the layer ata ice 2 positioncorresponding to the center of gravityf 'of a. nor: mal breast."

Another object'of the. invention is the provision; of"-'a' surgical bustpadl comprised of a single continuous layer of material in thelsh'a'peof a human breast and having the-ed'gjes ofthelayer'skinned and shapedto conformto' the. contourof the chest portion surrounding the area' of"surgery in the same'manner as would the normal human breast soth'atthepad appears as'a continuation oft he remaining chest surface; I

[.Th'e'seand "other objects" of the invention not specifically setfo'rthabove will become readily apparent from the accompanying description anddrawings in which:'

Figure .1 is a projected elevational 'view showing". the" back surface.o-fthe three sections which" are secured together to" form' thesurgical'bust pad.

Figure 2 is ahorizontal section 'along line 22 of Figure 1. showing the.manner in which the weight particles are made integral with each of thelower sections of. t eram 4 Figure 3 is a rearelevational view of thebust pad-with the threesections secured'together to forma single,continuous layer. inthe shape of a human breast.

Figure .4 is a front .elevational view of the bust pad illustrated inFigure 3 and showing the position of the weight'particles.'directly'below the nipples v Figure 5 is a vertical. section along line 5-5 ofFigure 4 illustrating the flexible protective covering placed completelyaround the pad;

Figure 6 is a horizontal section'along line 6-6 of. Figure 4' illustratirigthe contour of the edges of. the bust pad.

' Referring to Figure" 1',"a surgical bust pad-7 isfo'rrned" from anupper section 8 and two lower sections 9' and" 10.- Each of the sectionsis constructed of foam rub-.- ber, butother suitable materials such asfoam plastics and synthetic foam can be utilize-d for this purpose-Before the sectionshare assembled, sections 9 and -10 are splitlo'ngitudinally over the areas ll and 12," 'respec--. tively. Each ofthe longitudinally split areas has surfaces -13 and l4' which are firstcoated with a rubber or other suitable flexible cement and a layer ofweight particles 15 is placed on the coated surface 14. The surfaces arethen pressed together to close the split. area and'the weight particlesbecome an integral part of'the' wall of the'section. In'Figure 2, theweight particles are shown as heavy shot butsand or other heavy, finely.divided material can also be used an a second layer15v of particles canbe applied to the other surface 13 beforev the'surfa'ces 13 and' 14 aresealed together in the event th'at'additional Weight'is required; Ofcourse,a single' layer of larger shot could also be used to increase theweight. 1 The rubber cement serves to grip the weight particles-so thatthey'can be applied in aneven layer andalso servesto seal the surfaces13 and'14 around the weighted particles; Because of the manner in whichthe particles are incorporated, they do'not distort-the 'contour 'orinterferewith the texture of the pad sections' 9 and 10.?

After-thewveightparticles are incorporated,-the edges- 16;-a-nd :1=.7'ofsections 9 and lit, respectively, are secured together. by.rubber-cement toform a seam l8 andbecause' these edges curveawayfrcmeach other the sections 9 and'-10,-.:whensecured together,assume a shape'sim-ilar to r.he.lower-porti-onof a normal breast. Thelower edge 19.-of:section-.8 isthensecured to the'upper edges 20 and21ofsection'9 and 10 respectively, by rubber. cement to. form a .seam22. After. being thus secured, the upper section: assumesa shapesimilar. to. the upper portionof a normal breast. I

lu'forder that the bu'st'pad will fit closely-to il? body finely dividedparticles.

surface of the wearer, the edge 23 of section 8 and the edge 24 ofsection 9 are tapered so that these edges will be parallel to and abutthe chest of the wearer when the sections areshapedtoform the bust pad..Also, the edge 25 of section 10 has a portion'25' whichislsir'n'ila'rly; tapered to, abut the chest of thewearer. 1Anotherj.portion 25'....of,edge 25fand edge 2610f section8 are tapered to afeatheredge 27,at the lateral side sothat'jthesej edges rest flatagainst theribgca'ge, Thus, the bust pad is shaped to fit against'th'esurface contours of the, body, to simulate the shape of a normal breast;The complete. pad is encased-ina cloth cover 2.8 which conforms to thefront surface of the pad and projects across the-back, of the pad. vThecovered bust. pad, canbe heldlo'osely in a brassiere cup or the cover 28can 'be equipped with hooks orfastenersso thatthepad can be securedtothe. bras'siereQf v i 1 When the bust pad isworn ina 'brassiere theweight particles 15,'spread over the areas 11 and 12, have a center ofgravity located below the nipple wherethe bust bulges naturally, so thatthe pad gives the appearance of a normal breast. The effect of the padinserted in a brassiere cup is one of naturalness and tends to balancethe brassiere and compensate for the weight of the re-" maining breast.The total weight of particles 15 added to the pad will norm-allyincrease as the size of the pad increases.

the body surfacev around the tender ski'n resulting from the surgicaloperation. The cover 28 is the only portion which touches this tenderarea and therefore this area is kept clean and cool. While aImastectomyusually leaves the chest flat or somewhat concave, the cover 28 willeasily flex to the dashed line position of Figure 5 in the event thatthe chest emerges from surgery somewhat convex in form. While thesurgical pad is primarily designed as, a bust replacement, it canequally well be used to fit,

over a deficient breast. Because of the fact that the bust pad has anabrupt taper to edge 9 and because the edges of the bust pad do notcontact the area of surgery, there is less chance of dermatitisdeveloping. i

1 The present invention provides a novel bust pad which behaves in muchthe same manner as a normal breast. The pad does not contact the tenderskin resulting from surgery since the pad is constructed of a single,continuous layer which can be Weighted with solid particles attached tothe layer, While the pad has, been described as constructed of separatesections, the complete pad can be molded with the weight particles inthe desired location. .'Also, the invention contemplatesthe .use of oneor more large particles of solid material in place-of the ticle in anysuitable shape, such as in plate form, could be inserted into the bustpad at a position to give the desired weight effect and the particlecould be shaped to the contour of the bust pad at this position ifnecessary.

This particle could also be made flexible in order to give resiliency tothe weighted area. Several such large; par- It is understood that theweighted areas 11 and 12 canv be varied in size and position and thatthe weight particles can be inserted in section 8 as well as in sections9 and 10. For instance, each of the three sec- For instance, a singlesolid par- 4 from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafterdefinedby the appended claims.

What is claimed is: i

1. A bust pad comprising a continuous layer of resilient material havingan external surface formed into the shape of a human breast and aplurality of rigid, inflexible particles embedded within said layer toincrease the density of said layer at any desired position, at leastsome of said particles being individually confined by said layer and allsaid particles being small enough in size to permit universal flexing atsaid desired position solely by relative movement between the particles:

2. A bust pad as defined in claim 1 wherein said continuous layer isformed of a plurality of sections having edge connections and extendingfrom one another to form a single layer, one or more of said sectionscontaining said rigid particles in the interior thereof.

, 3, A bust pad as defined in claim 2 wherein said particles arearranged in layer form in each particle containing section with theparticles randomly distributed in the layer, said particles 'beingpositioned to place thecenter of gravity below the nipple where thehuman breast naturally bulges. I

4. A bust pad as defined in claim 1 wherein the edges of said layer abutthe body of the wearer and said layer is contouredat the edgesto appearas the normal continuation of the body surface at the edges, said layerbeing 1 6. A method of weighting a bust pad constructed of a singlelayer of resilient material comprising splitting an area of saidresilient material at the position to be weighted, placing within thesplit area a plurality of solid particles ofgreater density than saidmaterial and thereaftersealing the material together over the split areato re-unite the material over the split area. i 7. A method ofconstructing a bust pad from a plurality of sections of resilientmaterial comprising splitting one or more of said sections, coating thesplit surfaces with adhesive material, applying a plurality of solidparticles of greater density than said material to said coated surfaces,sealing said coated surfaces around said particles-and thereafterconnecting said sections together to form said bust pad.

8. A bust pad comprising a continuous layer of resilient material havingan outer surface formed into the shape of a human breast, the portion ofthe pad atthe lateral side having a tapered interior surface forming asmall angle with the outer surface of said layer so that said layergradually increases in. thickness from said lateral side to give theappearance of the slight curvature of a normal breast at' the lateralside, the apex of said small angle comprising a feather edge so that noabrupt change in contour occurs between thebody surface of the wearerand the pad at the lateralside. f

9. A bust pad comprising a single continuous layer of resilient materialhaving an outer surface formed into the shape of a human breast, theedge of the pad atthe lateral'sideicomprising a tapered interior surfaceforming a small angle'with'the outer surface of said layer so that saidlayer gradually increases inthickness from said lateral side tojgiveftheappearance of the slight curvature ofja normal breasfat the lateralsidefthe remaining edges con iprisin g'- tapered edge surfaces formingangles said: outer surface larger than said sinall anglefse tha t saidremaining edges engage the chest surfaceiover less area than. saidfirst mentioned edge to give thefappearance of the greater curvature ofa normal breast at said remaining edges, all of said edges lying againstthe chest surface so that said outer surface gives the appearance of thesurface of a normal breast.

10. A bust pad comprising a single continuous layer of resilientmaterial having an exterior surface formed into the shape of a humanbreast, said layer having a concave interior surface positioned over thebreast area of the wearer, and a plurality of rigid, inflexibleparticles embedded in said layer at a selected location, said particlesbeing of greater density than said resilient material in order toincrease the density of said layer at the selected location, saidparticles being distributed over the selected location and movablerelative to one another to provide for resiliency at said location.

11. A bust pad comprising a single continuous layer of resilientmaterial having an exterior surface formed into the shape of a humanbreast with nipple, and a plurality of rigid particles embedded in saidlayer over a selected area and at least some of the particles beingindividually confined by said layer, said particles being of greaterdensity than said resilient material and being disbursed over said areafor movement relative to one another to retain the flexibility of thepad in said area.

12. A bust pad as defined in claim 11 wherein said rigid particlescomprise shot particles, said shot particles being arranged in layerform within said area and cemented to said resilient material.

13. A bust pad as defined in claim ll wherein said area is entirelylocated at a position beneath the nipple on said pad so that the centerof gravity of said pad corresponds to the location of the center ofgravity of the human breast.

14. A bust pad comprising a continuous layer of resilient materialhaving an exterior surface formed into the shape of a human breast, anda plurality of rigid particles inserted into said layer over a selectedarea, said particles being distributed in layer form over said area toincrease the density thereof and to provide for flexibility of said areasolely by relative movement between said particles.

15. A bust pad as defined in claim 14 wherein said layer of resilientmaterial has a concave interior surface adjacent the breast area of thewearer, said particles being distributed in layer form between saidexterior and interior surfaces.

16. A bust pad as defined in claim 14 wherein said selected area isdefined by a slit in said layer closed around said particles.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,033,788 Dennis July 30, 1912 2,066,503 Wiggers Jan. 5, 1937 2,482,297Silverman Sept. 20, 1949 2,507,745 Wilkenfeld et a1. May 16, 19502,519,401 Rockwell Aug. 22, 1950 2,524,028 Bordner Oct. 3, 19502,719,301 Witkower Oct. 4, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 628,155 Germany Mar. 30,1936

